Rondell Rants: Los Angeles Lakers' Keys To Victory in Game Five

Imagine being the guy who took a low paying job for a start-up called Microsoft, or the girl who went against her gut and interned for a confident young Oprah Winfrey.

Being in the right place at the right time has its benefits.

Now, I sure wish I could tell you I was that guy who palled around with Bill Gates or even Oprah 30 years ago, but sadly, I'm sure I would have thought they were both to weird to chill with. No, my claim to fame is not as grandiose, but still pretty cool.

I know Rondell Sheridan.

Sheridan is a Clippers season ticket holder and a huge basketball fan. This guy knows his stuff! We met after I wrote an article proclaiming him the new Clipper celebrity.  

The more we talked, the more I knew everyone needed to hear this guy's take on the association.

B/R: Rondell, are the Lakers done?

RS: You gotta give coach Gentry credit for coming up with using the zone for 48 minutes. Cʼmon, nobody saw that coming. Even Nostradamus was napping.

Who knew that lame defense we all hated playing against in high school would be the straw that broke the Lakers' back.

Now, donʼt get me wrong. Iʼm not saying its all over for the purple-and-gold. But unless something changes for Kobe and the game, things are looking dim.

Code blue, better fire up life support

B/R: OK, you're on Phil Jackson's staff. How do you beat the amazing Suns' zone?

RS: When it comes to a zone defense you need to do a few things.

1. Get the ball up the court fast. Don't just walk the ball up the court after made baskets.
2. You need to pass the ball into the free throw line extended. I personally like about three to five feet deeper, but most feel free throw line extended is enough.
3. You need to rotate the ball and force defensive guards to pick up forwards on the weak-side defense, hence the reason you need to get the ball up court fast. That way you have as many seconds as possible to pass the ball around the perimeter.
4. You need to be patient and not settle for outside shooting, especially early in the shot clock. Lay off the three-point shooting!!!
5. And most importantly...Dribble penetration, fellas!!!

The Lakers werenʼt patient. They shot threeʼs like they were home loans and it was 2007. Lakers went nine-of-16 and eight-of-17 in the first two games, then went nine-of-32 and nine-of-28 in the last two games.

B/R: Hey, I took out a loan in 2007, and that worked out OK. Sorta. OK, not at all, good point. Sounds like you are putting a lot of responsibility on the Lakers' guards then.

RS: Dribble penetration only exists with Kobe. D-Fish is an east-west guard not north-south, and Farmar just seemed to be there only to bring the ball up the court and then get out of the way.

Now, if the Lakers' goal is to have Kobe run the show and handle the ball 90 percent, then take a look at two teams, Miami and Cleveland. It didn't do them any good. Until Oklahoma started spreading the wealth it wasnʼt working for them either.

B/R: Other than beating that zone, what's the key to a Lakers victory in Game Five?

RS: This week, the talk has been about rebounding, and it should be. Check out this stat. Over the last four games, hereʼs the rebounding: Gasol, 25; Bynum, 21; and Lamar, 47.

Hello!! Houston, do we have a problem?

I donʼt have issue with Bynum, but even if you take out his freaky 19 rebounds in Game One—just simply take those 19 rebounds out of the equation—that still leaves Lamar with 27 rebounds, which is still more than Gasol and Bynum.

The Lakers canʼt win if they continue to get out-rebounded by Phoenix, but more importantly, the Lakers canʼt win if Gasol and Bynum continue to get out-rebounded by Lamar.

They just canʼt. Why? 'Cause Lamar is the B-squad. If the B-squad is beating you, then what are the starters doing when they are on the court?

B/R: Great point. I know Phil Jackson has toyed with idea of sitting Bynum. What do you think?

RS: Bynum is the little engine that could. Bless this little, knobby-kneed bastard. If he was a horse, we would of put him down weeks ago. Even Walton Sr. would give him a gold star. The problem is with his cartilage injury, he is just not going to get better. I argue he will get progressively worse each and every game.

There is nothing you can do about this until surgery. I suggest this. Start Powell or M'Benga and just platoon the two of them. They can grab rebounds, they arenʼt gonna score much, but you can put a constant body on Amarʼe. And then use Bynum second team with Lamar.

Now youʼve forced Phoenix to make a decision. When they bring in the second team with Amarʼe on the bench, they wonʼt have anyone to handle both Bynum and Lamar.

B/R: So, you outlined a plan to beat the zone, called-out rebounding as a key, and threw out the idea of starting someone other than Bynum. Anything else you see as a key for the purple-and-gold?

RS: Kobe has to be the point guard. He has to penetrate every time, and at the same time, Gasol and whomever have to play outside in. Meaning, stay out until Kobe make his move and then collapse to the basket.

Normal basketball wisdom would say play inside-out, but that plays into a zone's game plan. You need to disrupt that. Phoenix is not strong enough to beat the Lakers with a collapsed middle. They just ainʼt big enough

B/R: To be fair, the Suns do have a shot, right? What do you see as their key to victory?

RS: Now as far as Phoenix, they only need to do one thing and one thing only: keep up the Nash/Amarʼe pick and roll. It's killing the Lakers. Until the Lakers can figure out how to stop it effectively it will be “Winner winner, chicken dinner."

B/R: Nicely done, Rondell. Any final thoughts?

RS: Iʼm out. I gotta go to Popeyes, I got a coupon!